Comprehensive analysis of Neo-Noir

Background of Neo-Noir Neo Noir is a modern genre of movies that was based off of the classic Film Noir movie genre. This genre of film was first introduced by critics in 1970.It has adopted many key features of this genre as well as incorporation new elements of films that appeal to a modern audience. However, due to its similarities with Film Noir, it is debated whether Neo-Noir is its own genre or merely just a sub-genre.

Conventions of Neo-Noir: Lighting In Neo-Noir films, they have similar uses of Lighting to the Film Noir genre. they adopt the Chiaroscuro lighting style involving sharp contrasts between light and shade. This can denote certain emotions or characteristics of a character as well as creating discomfort. In Neo-Noir, they take this a step further with the use of coloured films. Stark contrasts between colours such as bright yellows on dull browns can have a similar effect. An example of this is the fire spreading in the opening scene of ‘The Usual Suspects’

Conventions of Neo-Noir: characters Similarly to Film Noir, the main characters of Neo-Noir characters tend to have ambiguous character traits.For example, the main character may have had a notorious past however they are now trying to change their ways. Another example is someone who commits violent crimes for a good cause. This type of character creates conflicts in the audience as they are unsure whether they should identify with that character or not. An example of a character like this is Butch Coolidge from the film ‘Pulp Fiction’.

Conventions of Neo-Noir: Obscured scenes Neo-Noir films do not rely on shadows as much in their movies and adopt other techniques to obscure scenes. One example of this is the use of steam and smoke in shots to create a sense of animosity in their scenes. An example of this would be ‘Blade Runner’

Conventions of Neo-Noir: tracking shots

In Neo-Noir scenes, it is common to have long tracking shots which are continuous shots that are not broken. Tracking shots as such can give the audience information about where the scene is set as well where the characters are in relation to each other.An example of a well known tracking shot is in the film ‘Goodfellas’. This shot gave us knowledge of where the characters were as well as information on the character’s status.

Other examples of Neo-Noir films:L.A Confidential (1997) No Country For Old Men (2007)

Sin City (2005)

The Dark Knight (2008) Seven (1995)

Fargo (1996)